This blog is part of our series of Wolfe’s Neck Center Stories, focusing on the people and the programs that drive our work for farmer viability, thriving ecosystems, and vibrant communities.
Take a few steps behind the Smith Center on the campus of Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment in Freeport, ME, into the Discovery Garden, and find a bold timber and metal kiosk accented in orange. This is the start of the Carbon Footpath, a self-guided tour created in partnership with Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences that introduces learners of all ages to the carbon cycle and how its balance is important to our health and environment.
The Carbon Footpath uses the landscape of our 600+ acre campus to explore how our diverse ecosystems work and how people can work in concert with natural systems through regenerative agriculture practices. The Footpath brings an ecological and scientific lens to the work we do here at Wolfe’s Neck Center to build healthy soils, environments, and farming communities — and how we partner with other organizations for research and collaboration.
The recently launched Carbon Footpath website brings this experience to all and allows everyone, including school groups, to continue learning even after a trip to the farm is over.
The Carbon Footpath fulfills Wolfe’s Neck Center’s Visitor Education and Experience mission while also highlighting research to understand the interplay between people, animals, and the environment. In fact, another part of Wolfe’s Neck Center’s Research and Demonstration program area is our partnership with Bigelow and other nonprofits and universities to explore how seaweed additives in the feed for our dairy cows can reduce their “emissions” of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
Overall, the Carbon Footpath exemplifies Wolfe’s Neck Center’s unique ability to bring people together, share knowledge, and work with partners like Bigelow toward a resilient, sustainable and economically viable regional food system that values the responsible stewardship of land for future generations.
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